Destiny of the Stars
by Ryuzo Katsukawa
Summary: Star Ocean EX Fanfic
1. And so, It Begins

The great ocean of stars enveloped the young planet, pulling it along it predestined course through the heavens. The spherical globe held great knowledge and was a place of wonder, and yet, against its heavenly backdrop, it seemed an out of place prop, or a hindrance to the natural beauty of the galaxy.  
But, unknown to this small sphere, someone was trying to alter its destiny. Someone would willingly pull it out of its predefined course, altering the fate of the other worlds forever.  
  
Chapter 1:And so it begins________________________________________________  
Keon looked out into the vast space, wondering at all the twinkling points of light surrounding his home. He turned to gaze upon the beauty of his planet, and then headed to the bridge of his ship.  
"All hands, report!"  
"Sir, it seems we have been unable to locate the source of the disturbance. However, we have located a strange meteor headed toward the thought unoccupied Green Planet."  
"I shall look into it. In the mean time, head back to Zera."  
"Yes, Sir!"  
Keon stepped up to the navigation unit, locking in their best course and turning back to his quarters.  
The ship they rode in turned towards the captain's home planet of Zera, without so much as a slight disturbance of his balance. The ship's compensators were perfect, and his ship was no normal one. Built for science, it had labs in which you could study the very stars themselves, accounting for much of the Zeran's knowledge of space.  
Keon sat on his bed, looking at the picture right next to it. His little sister, Nare, smiled back at him. 'If only she was still so cute and innocent. If only I hadn't changed her into a soldier.'  
He stood and walked over to his mini-lab, tired of his soldier's giving up in their attempts at finding out what had caused the disturbance. He turned on his receiver, pulling on the headphones that were attached to them and moved the cursor on his screen to the Green Planet, having it focus on it. His ears were met with a slight crackling sound, as if someone were trying to send a message. 'A message! From there?! But there hasn't been any type of communication from there for.'  
His thoughts were interrupted by a crystal clear voice.  
"This is Ensign Claude C. Kenni, come in. This is Ensign Claude C. Kenni, do you read me?"  
Before he could respond, however, the signal was terminated, but not before a scream was heard.  
'So there are intelligent beings on the planet. But why have they never tried to contact us?'  
He turned again to the Green Planet, and this time searched for any type of radio or magnetic waves on or near the planet. His sensor, however, overloaded just before he could see the results.  
'What?! But that would mean that there are magnetic waves in excess! And, apparently, all of the ships and such on this planet are causing a disturbance in our heavenly course.'  
"All hands, brace for landing. I repeat, brace for landing."  
Keon could barely grab the desk before the ship landing, throwing his sensor equipment off of his desk.  
"Damn. Now I won't be able to show these results to anyone. But I will find the reason for these sudden happenings. I will." 

___________________________________________________________________  
Nare stepped off the shuttle into the bustling city, moving aside as a vendor pushed his cart past her, almost pushing a man behind her into the ship. She looked behind, noticing something strange with this man. He seemed alright enough, but he couldn't have been a soldier, and only merchants and soldiers were allowed in this city.  
"Excuse me, sir, but what is your business in this fine city?"  
"I'm a. merchant's assistant. I'm attempting to find some wares for my fine employer to sell back at our town."  
"And, do you have local currency?"  
"Will inter-continental money not suffice? We are from a village quite near to here. So it should be local currency."  
"A village?"  
Nare's eyebrows jumped in curiosity. She was from a village near here. Time to have a little fun. 'Let's see… if he's from where he says, I should know him, yet I've never seen him in my life.'  
"What village, might I ask?"  
"Umm…"  
The stranger looked around, apparently searching for his employer.  
"Can't seem to remember? Maybe you're from my village. What's your name?"  
"Matais…"  
"Never heard of you, yet you must be from my vill-"  
A runaway cart cut off Nare, and she was thrown into Matais, who was in turn thrown into the ship. Unluckily for them, it had just decided to take off, and the two where dropped, not very comfortably, onto the ground below.  
"So, Matais, if that is your name. Now that I've figured out your not from a village near here who knows what you are. Show me to where you're staying."  
"B-B-But."

        "That's an order."

.:Fin:.


	2. Fathi Melee Faction

Chapter Two: Fathi Melee Faction_______________________________________________  
Keon stepped off of his ship onto the Zeran soil, breathing deeply the aroma of his hometown, Fathi. The streets shimmered in the setting sun, and the river close by could be heard but not seen, giving the streets a sense of mystery. At the sight of their ship, however, the villagers closed their windows and doors, and the children went inside, corralled by angry looking parents.  
"What is this? The people of my hometown."  
"Captain Keon, it seems that the Fathi Melee Faction has taken over this city. apparently a soldier has rebelled and joined the FMF."  
"Really now. Who?"  
"No-one knows yet. No-one is missing from the ship, this or otherwise."  
"What about off-duty soldiers?"  
"All accounted for. Apparently it's a Tech worker or a cadet."  
'Nare? But why would she join the other side?'  
He looked around, and only a solitary villager had not entered a house.  
"You there! Where are the soldiers stationed here?"  
"Umm…Captain, is it? They've left for the capitol, I think."  
Keon stepped towards him. "You think?"  
The man stepped back and tripped, and when he stood, he was holding a knife in both his hands.  
"You've terrorized us enough!"  
He stood, battle ready, a look of a killer in his eyes. Keon drew a sword, and rushed him, attacking with and overhead slash. His opponent evaded easily enough, and rained attacks on his back during the break in his defenses. Keon spun, slashing as hard as he could, only to be evaded once again. This time, however, foreseeing the attacks, he used the momentum from his swing to evade the thief, much to his surprise. They parted, both tired, but only one injured.  
"So, a much renowned Shadow Thief. Working for the FMF?"  
"Of course. You've held power for long enough. This village should be- "  
A voice which was strangely familiar to Keon interrupted the thief's sentence.  
"Matais? What's going.?" The speaker came into view, a girl with blue hair and dark green eyes clothed in a Zeran soldier's uniform. 

___________________________________________________________________________

         Nare stopped dead in her tracks, staring into her brother's saddened face in anguish.  
"Nare…you can't have joined them."  
Keon's blue eyes filled with tears, and he looked down, his tears mixing with the ground below him.  
"So. the own commander's sister."  
Keon's companion stepped forward, raising a gun the size of his head and pointing it towards Nare.  
"How ironic. Now I see we can't trust new recruits as much as we used to be able to. Well, I also know one thing. Keon won't stop you. So of course I'll have to. How boring. Taking care of a new recruit and a worn out fighter from the last war. I saw from the way you fought that you couldn't have kept that up for long."  
"But I have a companion, and there are some things you don't know about her." The soldier smirked.  
"Of course I know about her Heraldic abilities. Keon has been my commanding officer for years by now. I've seen his strength, but I know her crests are different then his."  
"And I presume you also know the reason we've been given them."  
Keon stood, brushing a bit of dust off of his jacket.  
"But that's not important. Officer, we will head back to the ship and dock at the capitol. Everything revealed here shall be kept secret under pain of death."  
"But sir, we know who the traitor is."  
Keon turned towards his officer, a look of sadness still remaining in his eyes.  
"She is not a traitor anymore then you. She has reasons. This meeting was not fated to happen, and will not be discussed. Is that understood?"  
"Yes, sir."

.:Fin:.


	3. Betrayal?

Chapter Three: Betrayal?_______________________________________________________  
  
Nare looked around the base, surprised by the technicality of it all. She was inside the Fathi Melee Faction base, deep underground below Fathi. Apparently, all was not as it seemed. Instead of the village being taken over by the FMF, the village had finally decided to support the rebels against the rest of the Zeran government.  
"Nare, you have been given the rank of Officer, right under me." Matais continued his explanation, continuing to walk through the base. "You will be in a unit of 4 soldiers total, including Rinus, Lenelf, myself, and, of course, you."  
"What unit?"  
"The Melee Heralds, those based in close range battle crests. Because, of course, these are quite rare and powerful, this is one of the highest ranking units in the Faction."  
"Wow! What are the specialties?"  
"Lenelf is earth, Rinus is water, you are Light, and I am Shadow. A pretty well rounded team, especially because Rinus has learned some healing spells, though he says not where he learned them."  
"Alright then, when can I meet the rest of the unit?"  
"Right now." Matais turned towards a young man with blue eyes and a large hat covering his hair.  
"Hey, Rinus! Get Lenelf and meet us at the Heraldry HQ. I have someone you need to meet."  
"Alright, see ya there."  
Rinus turned away, heading to a large group of people and disappearing into the crowd. Nare again looked around, wondering at the large ceilings and earthy quality of the building. Something seemed amiss, and the people seemed on edge. Matais had, by now, left her behind, heading to a small building of sorts which seemed to be the Heraldry HeadQuarters.  
"Hey, Matais, why is everyone on edge here?" 

___________________________________________________________________________  
A force of 50 soldiers stood above the barren wastelands of Fathi, preparing to attack. Keon walked through the ranks, inspecting his 10 man unit's armor and weapons. He checked his own sword, the finely-crafted steel of his blade reflected the sunlight, and he proudly sheathed it.  
"Alright men, we want to prove to Fathi that we don't need long range weapons to defeat them. We will use our wits and strength to defeat them, just as they will try to use theirs to defeat us. All-ready, men? Then let us attack! We are to attack first, destroying the Heraldics before they can get at the brunt of the army. They aren't prepared, so only one member of the Melee Heraldics are outside. Find him.and kill him." 

___________________________________________________________________________  
"We're all pretty anxious about this war. We have less soldiers, but they seem to think that that means we are weaker.  
Matais smirked.  
"And that works in our favor. They wont send a true fighting force, only a small troop, too weak to defeat us. We can easily take them out, and their weapons will be of a great resource."   
Before Nare could argue against his plan, an alarm sounded from the highest level of the base.  
"Alert! Alert! Sensors have picked up enemies on the ridge above Fathi!  
"Well, I guess that's it. Come on, and here." Matais ran to the Heraldry HQ and came out with a staff, forged of metal and plated with wood, with a heraldic crystal at its top.  
"You know how to use it?"  
"Of course! Now let's go!" 

.:Fin:.


End file.
